Page 72 of Choosing Jenny
“Is everything alright?” I asked as I entered.
“Please sit,” she said without answering my question.
I settled into a chair across from her. “What is it?”
She exhaled a slow breath, seemingly organizing her thoughts before she spoke. “I understand you did not speak to Deacon after Longshot lost his hand.”
“Not really, no,” I admitted. “Things were a bit chaotic after that. Then Tiger was there…I had no reason to bother Deacon.”
“Botherhim?”
I shrugged. “He was busy with everyone else.”
Her brow lifted briefly. “You weren’t angry with him?”
Her question startled me. “Gods no, why would I be?”
She hesitated, her fingers absently touching the rim of her tea cup as she studied me for a moment. “He is concerned you blame him for Longshot’s accident.”
I blinked, then groaned and rubbed my forehead. “Absolutely not. If anything, I owe him a debt. A big one.”
“In what way?” she asked, tipping her head to the side.
I thought back to that awful moment. “When it happened, Deacon immediately threw Longshot onto his shoulders and ran him back to the ship. He assisted Ode in his treatment, too.”
She smiled tentatively. “So you’re not angry with him?”
“Not at all,” I said, shaking my head. “Honestly, he did all that while Longshot still had Rhonda with him, and even thoughIknow she would never have bitten Deacon,hedoesn’t trust her. So in his mind, he risked his own life for Longshot. The man you united with is my damned hero, as far as I’m concerned.”
She smiled, looking relieved. “I’m glad to hear that. He’s mine, too.” Her eyes flickered behind me. “And I think he’s glad to hear it, as well.”
I glanced over my shoulder, and there Deacon was, with Jac, Abyss and Omen.
Jac laughed and smacked his companion on the shoulder. “I didn’t know you were so awesome, Deacon. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Deacon chuckled. “I do not like to brag.”
For the first time, his eyes regarded me amicably. I stood up and gave him a quick hug. “Thank you for what you did, Deacon.”
He was stiff at first, and I had expected nothing else. But then, to my surprise, he softened and hugged me back. “You are welcome, Malice.”
“Now that that’s settled,” Jac said, patting my back. “How about some breakfast?”
My stomach answered with a growl. “Yeah, I could eat.”
As it turned out, breakfast at the Queen’s manor was anytime she asked for it which, during her pregnancy, was any possible hour. The others eventually caught up to us, and by half after five, my loves sat on either side of me, and Surge was practicing with the orbs. Everyone was there, except for Longshot. And Sam.
Discord, sitting a few seats away from me, glanced at Ode and finally asked the question we were all thinking. “How is Longshot doing?”
Ode took a sip of her coffee, then replied. “I sedated him better this time. He admitted his body has been trained to evade sedation, so I gave him an old conduit recipe for sleep and he’s been out ever since. I don’t expect him up for another couple of hours. Don’t worry.”
But Discord knew him almost as well as I did, and concern was written on her face. She also had Surge to worry about, considering everything with Sam. She watched him wave his hand over a Vulaven Egg as he spoke to Abyss. I wasn’t sure what Discord wanted to say to him—she had been so jealous around Sam. It was a side of her I had never seen.
But before Sam, Surge had never brought a woman around the estate, either.
Is she in love with him?I didn’t know, and I wasn’t about to ask.
Tiger, of all people, said, “I think it’s time to talk about Sam.”
